Yet, the hidden machinations behind everyone’s favorite social media and search platforms are engineered to exploit our primal instincts for validation, status, and mimetic desires (adopting or pursuing preferences and aspirations based on the influence of others rather than our intrinsic motivations), morphing into a manipulative force that feeds... See more

Capturing a comprehensive dossier of users’ lives may help AI become the perfect assistant, but it also gives these systems all the necessary tools for deep manipulation —redirecting our deepest longings into buying a product, say, or joining a political movement.